super soft and indulgent drabble!!! i was thinking of writing this later but evelyn is sad so i guess there’s no time like the present!!! this is very rushed so pls don’t roast it too bad >:(
the entire premise is this game i play with my mom where we just say “i love you” to each other over and over until one of us finally gives in. it’s a super soft thing that we’ve pretty much always done, no matter when or where, and my dad is sick to death of it.
katsuki’s relationship with his dad is complicated. to his friends, katsuki would call his dad a nuisance. to his parents, he calls him a doormat. to himself, though? katsuki will admit with no small amount of reluctance that his dad is pretty damn great.
this little tradition of theirs started when katsuki was tiny—he can’t even pinpoint the first time it happened. his dad would look at him with those soft, sappy eyes, and whisper “i love you”, and katsuki, ever-the competitive child, would whisper it back instantly. it’s a secret game of theirs, this back-and-forth.
katsuki will meet eyes with his father over the dinner table when he’s seven, and they’ll stare at each other silently for a long moment. “i love you.” katsuki will announce hastily, words slurring a little in his efforts to be the first one to say it. masaru will wilt, pouting at him playfully. “i love you.” he’ll respond to his son nonetheless. “i love you.” katsuki will shoot back stubbornly. “love you.” masaru repeats. they both prolong the challenge, waiting for the other to tire, to give in. it drags on through the entire dinner until the words all but lose their meaning, until mitsuki is smacking them both upside the head with a loud grumble that does little to hide her fondness.
katsuki will return back from school when he’s thirteen, dropping his bag onto the floor with a thump. from upstairs, mitsuki will screech at him to put it in his room instead of leaving it lying in the genkan. his father will make eye contact with him from across the living room. i love you, he’ll mouth at katsuki with mischief shining in his eyes. katsuki will huff a sigh, but echo the words back without hesitation. this little tennis match will continue as katsuki moves through the living room, masaru craning his head past the entrance to say it again as he chuckles to himself. katsuki, with the weight of his day on his shoulders, will whisper the words one last time after the door of his bedroom is clicking shut behind him, the faintest of smiles on his face.
it never stops. even as katsuki grows distant, hardened, the secret game continues. masaru will welcome him back on the weekends, asking him how the dorms are treating him. he’ll hug him tight, lean in close. “i love you, son.” he’ll whisper into katsuki’s hair. “love you, dad.” katsuki will whisper back. the game belongs to them and them alone, the one remaining hint of softness, of childishness, that katsuki refuses to let himself ruin with his pride. that day, they’ll say it back and forth the entire evening. “i love you.” masaru will remind him as he heads to bed. “i love you.” katsuki will affirm unwaveringly. the three words have been repeated thousands of times between the two of them under this roof, but the sincerity threaded through them hasn’t lessened.
katsuki sprawls over the couch with the rest of the self-proclaimed bakusquad, watching as the four idiots continue a very animated game of uno that katsuki already won. his parents sit at the table with the others’ parents, chatting away about whatever shit it is that adults talk about. it’s a visiting day, one of the rare occasions where the adults are allowed into ua to inspect their childrens’ living quarters. his mother is gesturing animatedly to kaminari’s parents as she talks, and the entire group laughs heartily at something she says. katsuki is watching lazily, waiting for his friends’ round of uno to end. then, like clockwork, his father’s eyes meet his, and in mere moments, a familiar challenging glint flits across his gaze. katsuki lets the hint of a smirk curl at his own lips, and mouths a clear, i love you across the room. masaru grins to himself and mouths it back. it’s risky, playing the game in public where any of katsuki’s idiots could catch him. but he’s never had the heart to say no to this, and masaru damn well knows it. “i love you,” katsuki says, barely audible. “i love you.” masaru says back, a little louder. it goes back and forth, like they’re at home again, like katsuki is a child still feeling the words out on his tongue. the adults laugh at something else mitsuki says, and from next to him, katsuki’s friends cheer as sero cries out a triumphant, “uno!”
“i love you.” katsuki murmurs, words carrying across the room for his father only. he’s grinning childishly, and masaru’s face echoes the expression as he whispers the three words back easily. i love you, i love you, i love you. the two of them are in a bubble of their own at this point, both of them beaming like idiots. that is, until mitsuki jabs an elbow into masaru’s ribs with a knowing look. the father and son startle, both of them snapping to attention only to find pretty much every occupant in the room watching them.
“you two are so adorable!” ashido’s mom coos, and katsuki feels his stomach drop, cheeks heating instantly. his father is fidgeting sheepishly, while mitsuki cackles away without an ounce of sympathy.
“dude,” kirishima breathes from next to katsuki, looking like he’s about to burst into either tears or laughter. katsuki ducks his head, feeling heat creep up the back of his neck.
“shut up.” he says instinctively, glaring at the floor as his hands come up to cover his face.
“no!” ashido wails, leaning over to pry them away. “that was so cute, blasty, what the hell?”
at her words, the entire room explodes into noise. sero and kaminari jeer at him obnoxiously, while ashido and kirishima coo and the parents watch in amusement. katsuki mourns his lost reputation silently as the others tug at him teasingly.
“it’s good that you have such a close relationship with your son,” he hears kaminari’s father tell his own wistfully. “my son would rather die than tell me he loves me.”
“that’s because it’s cringy!” kaminari hollers, shoving at a snarling katsuki fearlessly and earning a weary sigh from his own father.
through the chaos, masaru and katsuki meet eyes for a second, the both of them blushing furiously.
i love you, his father mouths through his embarrassed grimace. and katsuki, damn his soul, mouths it back.
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